


Chasing Him

by weilongfu



Category: Ookiku Furikabutte | Big Windup!
Genre: Did not have a lot of knowledge of how the rest of the series goes when this was written, Getting Together, Kind of Alternate Universe?, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:35:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26227267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weilongfu/pseuds/weilongfu
Summary: It's been six years since Mihashi last saw Abe. Six years of wondering about the words he just didn't catch in time. But when Mihashi is back in Japan for a visit, Abe makes sure he hears him loud and clear this time.Originally written waaaaaaaay back for the Oofuri LJ Kink Meme in 2010/2011.
Relationships: Abe Takaya/Mihashi Ren
Comments: 4
Kudos: 27





	Chasing Him

**Author's Note:**

> Wei? Writing something that isn't Thai/Taiwanese/Chinese/Korean BL fic? Insane! But you know, every writer got their start SOMEWHERE and for anyone curious about how I used to write, this, along with other Oofuri fics I'll be posting from the Oofuri LJ Kink Meme, are really the only "surviving" example. 
> 
> Despite how some of the writing makes me CRINGE, I decided not to make edits because at this point, it'd be exhausting and why not live and die by 20-something yr old me's mistakes?

It had been far too long a flight, at least in Mihashi’s opinion. That or it was not nearly long enough. The anxiety that he’d tried to squash with a few sips of bourbon, or distract himself from with the horrendous in-flight movie (“Snakes on a Plane? Really?” said Mihashi to himself), had only returned full force when he’d heard the landing announcement. And now here he was, Mihashi Ren, ace pitcher, pro-baseball star, was back in Japan after six long years abroad. Somehow, despite all the cocky bravado he’d managed to put on in front of the American cameras, just knowing he was back in Japan had somehow managed to make him regress back to the same old mentality of high school.

Mihashi tugged down his plain baseball cap nervously and adjusted his sunglasses for the fifth time in ten minutes. His hoodie had been zippered and unzipped a few times too, wondering if anyone would recognize him from wearing his old Nishiura jersey.

Mercifully, Mihashi made it out of the airport with nary a glance, despite how his nervous twitching had returned within three minutes of stepping outside the gate. Or how his classic stutter had returned when he asked for directions to the train terminal.

Watching the scenery fly past put things in to perspective, one that Mihashi hadn’t anticipated. So much had changed in six years. Even himself and how he had felt about his former teammates. Izumi and Mizutani were living in Australia. Tajima and Hanai were playing for rival teams, although neither would ever admit to meeting in secret frequently, but that was for later contemplation. Sakaeguchi and Suyama had opened their own business, Nishihiro was a doctor and Oki had also decided that a research job was his calling.

But there was only one person on his mind as Mihashi approached his old neighborhood. One that he hadn’t heard from in all of the six years he’d been away.

“Abe…” Mihashi breathed out in a sigh.

Abe had gone into physical therapy according to Tajima and was living with Shun. Although the fact that he couldn’t hear the news from Abe himself, it hurt more than Mihashi was willing to admit.

After graduation, Abe had gone to medical school and Mihashi was immediately picked up on a baseball scholarship and whisked away. They had tried to keep in touch of course, Abe constantly looked like he had something he wanted to say, but could never quite find the words and Mihashi too could barely keep up a good conversation after long practices that left him drained or crash study courses that took up too much time and left unable to contemplate the strange feelings in his chest.

And then Mihashi was gone, off to America to play the big leagues, and Abe had barely left him with a good bye. That sore spot hadn’t left no matter how much he practiced or how many batters he’d struck out.

But here he was, back again, feeling like that same 14-year-old boy that had just joined a new baseball team of first years with dreams of reaching Koushien. His mom had certainly hugged him like he was back home after his first day. No sooner had he walked in the door and shouted an, “I’m home!” had his mom rushed up to him and grabbed him like she’d never let go.

She’d dragged him into the kitchen (“You’re still so skinny Ren!”), roasted him some red bean buns (“Your father brought these home yesterday for you!”), and with a nice hot cup of tea, it was like he’d never left home.

After a nice family dinner, Mihashi lugged his baggage up to his old room, still in the same disarray he’d left it in, although tell tale signs that his mother had tried to clean it were noticeable. Piles were straightened out, the bed was made with the baseball he’d always slept with placed neatly on the pillow. It made him feel nostalgic, which only brought up more feelings that he’d barely considered. Falling back into his mattress, Mihashi pulled out his phone, idly thumbing through the numbers.

The screen displayed Abe’s number and the last picture he’d taken of him, a bright smile with Shun as he flashed his medical school ring. Hadn’t Abe smiled like that for him before?

Well, he’d tried at least. The first few times Abe smiled at him had been creepy, the low growl of his voice much more adept at making Mihashi feel appreciated than the strange facial expression. And it had been a while since he’d heard it too.

Mihashi kept staring at the photo. What had happened? What changed between them? What words couldn’t the two of them say to each other? Mihashi’s chest tightened again as he considered the looks Abe would give him just before they’d say good night. Like he wanted to confess some dark secret.

“W-w-wasn’t it the s-same for me?” Mihashi asked himself softly.

Of course he had always admired Abe, the catcher who had turned him into an ace. He’d always been concerned, and although he was rough, he’d always said or done the right thing to shake Mihashi out of his funk. Sure Tajima had always been able to understand what was going on, but it wasn’t Abe.

_“It just has to be Abe-kun,” Mihashi remembered saying one night to Abe._

_“W-what?”_

_Mihashi looked around nervously before looking back at the screen and camera for the video chat. “I-I mean… It’s not the same… without you…”_

_“Mihashi…”_

_“Y-you know me b-best! So I… Um… I wish you were… h-here…”_

_“I want to be there, Mihashi. I-“_

_“I… So… Um… Please come see me off! W-when I’m leaving tomorrow. N-Narita Airport a-at 3.”_

_“I… Ok. I’ll be there Mihashi.”_

_“Thank you Abe-kun!” Mihashi exclaimed suddenly leaning closer to the screen. And at that closer point, he could see a faint pink on Abe’s cheeks._

_“Saa… It’s nothing really…”_

_Mihashi still looked at the screen brightly until he realized that it was one in the morning. “AH! H-Have to finish p-packing!”_

_But instead of yelling like Mihashi had expected, Abe had some sort of resigned look on his face. “Go pack Mihashi. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, ok?”_

_“O-Ok! Good night Abe-kun!”_

But the next day, Abe had only just barely managed to make it to the gate to say good-bye by the time Mihashi was boarding. Abe had yelled something, but Mihashi could only hear the muffled shouts and discern nothing from them.

So Mihashi spent the last six years in wondering if he’d done the right thing. If he couldn’t have waited just a few minutes longer before getting on the plane. If he couldn’t have heard what Abe had to say, if he couldn’t have let Abe change his life, his choice.

“I’m not going to run,” Mihashi said to himself.

He pressed dial.

“Hello? Abe speaking.” A familiar voice answered. Rough, but soft on the edges, just like Mihashi remembered.

“Abe-kun?”

“Abe… kun? Mihashi? Is that you?”

“Y-yes! Good evening Abe-kun!”

“Mihashi! It’s… It’s nice to hear from you again,” Abe replied. Mihashi noticed there was a warmth to his voice that hadn’t been there before. It certainly hadn’t been there in high school. “Isn’t it really early over there in America? How are you calling me? Are you getting enough sleep?”

‘Abe hasn’t changed at all,’ thought Mihashi. “I-it’s fine! I’m back in J-Japan!”

“T-That’s great! When did you get back?”

“J-Just today! Um… Are you busy tomorrow? I-I was thinking w-we could catch up!”

There was the sound of some papers shuffling before Abe replied, “Sure, just let me give you my address…”

Fifteen minutes later Mihashi proudly held up his little scrap of paper, Abe’s address, his new link to an old friend.

The next afternoon (Mihashi felt like he had barely slept at all, jet lag sucked) found Mihashi walking down familiar streets. Although Abe didn’t live with his parents anymore, apparently he bought the house and Shun had moved in with him, he still lived in the general neighborhood. Mihashi relished the chance to walk along the old streets, remembering the early mornings and late nights of walking and bicycling. All those times Abe had walked by his side and despite the stuttering and yelling they’d bonded.

The familiar tightness in Mihashi’s chest returned.

They’d been a battery, one so close they’d been feared their senior year.

One so close, they could understand each other by looking each other in the eyes.

But all that had stopped some how. While Abe was at medical school, he couldn’t meet Mihashi’s eyes, and for the first time in years, Mihashi couldn’t understand what Abe wanted to say.

Turning around a corner, Mihashi spotted Abe’s house. It was a nice piece of suburbia, a nice white fence, two floors, a nice large backyard… and baby toys? Toy cars, a tricycle, softball, wiffle ball and bat, and even a nice shiny red wagon were strewn across the front yard. Was this really Abe’s house?

“W-Why would Abe-kun have all these things?” Mihashi asked himself. “U-Unless…” A little two-year-old boy with wild dark hair running up from behind the house followed by a young woman answered Mihashi’s unspoken question.

She was pretty, Mihashi noticed with belated interest over the sound of his own heart shattering on the ground. Long flowing black hair, dark brown eyes, and a kind smile set in a smooth pale face with no trace of age. Her body was slender yet curvy and she dressed herself well. Abe certainly could pick them couldn’t he?

Tears were forming behind his eyes and he hadn’t the slightest idea why. What had he been expecting? Wasn’t Abe supposed to be waiting for him all this time? Wait… Was Abe even supposed to be waiting? Didn’t… Didn’t Abe yell for him? Beg him to come back? _Didn’t Abe shout that he lo-_

“Oh hello!” And suddenly the woman was before Mihashi.

“U-Um hi! S-Sorry to intrude! I-I’m here t-to see-“

“Oh! You must be Mihashi-san! My husband and his brother have told me and little Kei-kun so much about you!” She bowed politely. “My name is Shizuka. It’s an honor to meet you!”

“A-Ah. The f-feeling is m-mutual,” said Mihashi as he clumsily bowed back. The feeling that he was out of his league was slowly creeping up on Mihashi. “W-Where is Abe-san?”

“Oh they’re both out at the convenience store down the road. When I found out from my husband’s brother that you were coming to visit this morning, I insisted they buy some fruit for a snack. The strawberries are so sweet this year; I thought you’d like them. Please come in! I’ll start some tea.”

With barely a chance to register what was going on, Mihashi was pulled into the house with the toddler following at his heels looking up at him with dark gray eyes, chewing on the hem of his shirt. The resemblance to Abe was eerie and did nothing to help unravel the knot forming in Mihashi’s stomach.

The inside of the house was just as quaint as the outside. Soft warm tones, clean lines, simple furniture, and a surprisingly large amount of photos. Pictures of the Abe family, plenty of the little toddler Keitaro which Shizuka was quick to point out, and a surprising set of pictures of the Nishiura team.

Mihashi pulled himself to a halt in front of two of them, neatly hung on the plain wall. The first was the team photo they took their second year, Abe was still in crutches recovering from his knee injury, Mihashi and Shun along side him. In the second photo, it was Abe and Mihashi arms around each other’s shoulders, smiling at each other, their hands intertwined after a successful game senior year. Mihashi’s hands fisted in his shirtsleeves and he felt the ache of the unfulfilled in his chest.

“They’re nice photos aren’t they?”

Mihashi whipped his head around to see Shizuka right next to him, staring at some of them. “A-Ah yes t-they are n-nice photos.”

“The two of them stare at this wall all the time. What brothers… I suppose they keep trying to remember their glory days! Oh the stories they tell me! I suppose you remember a fair few yourself… Oh my I’m rambling! I can’t keep boring you like this! What a horrible impression I’m making! The tea is ready, please come have a seat,” Shizuka offered gesturing to the kitchen.

Mihashi stared beyond her into the space behind. Could he really do this? Was he ok with this? Did he come back to see that Abe had been just fine all along, and had moved on? With a beautiful wife, a cute child, and… No. He couldn’t do this. Not if Abe wasn’t here. Not if Abe wasn’t with _him_.

“I-I’m sorry!” Mihashi quickly dove into a bow. “I just remembered I have an appointment to make! Please tell Abe-san I’m very sorry! Thank you for your hospitality!”

So Mihashi ran. He ran as fast as he could, hoping to out run the sorrow that was about to swallow him whole.

Shizuka only stood there stunned, hoping the outburst wasn’t her fault. She didn’t have a chance to contemplate for too long as the back door suddenly opened and shut and in walked Shun and Takaya. Shizuka walked up to Shun and planted a kiss on his cheek.

“Welcome back Shun. And you too Takaya. A bit too late I suppose. Mihashi-san just ran off a moment ago.”

“Man, really?!” pouted Shun before he kissed Shizuka back. “I haven’t seen him in AGES! And Taka’s been a pain in my ass about how slow I was already.”

Abe on the other hand was twitching. “You mean he was just here and he ran? What did you say to him?!”

Shizuka frowned. “I… I don’t know… He seemed to be fine but then he just said something about an appointment and ran…”

Abe tossed his bags in the couple’s direction before bolting out the front door. Six years… Six long years of longing, of missing him, and he’d been so close, a few minutes difference. It wouldn’t stop Abe again.

Abe quickly turned the corner and saw the telltale honey brown hair. “MIHASHI!”

Mihashi didn’t even stop; he ran faster, feet pounding furiously against the pavement as Abe ran after him. Abe gave chase as best he could, shouting all the while and wondering when he’d gotten so out of shape.

“MIHASHI! MIHASHI! STOP, PLEASE!” Abe was finally starting to close distance before he gave one last shout. “GOD DAMN IT! REN!”

Mihashi paused to turn and look before he was nearly tackled by Abe, held tightly in arms that did not want to let go. Mihashi struggled a little, it wasn’t right! It wasn’t fair! Abe… no, Takaya couldn’t be his anymore. And Mihashi couldn’t do this.

“N-No! Let go of me! T-Takaya please!”

Abe simply pulled him in tighter, his head bent down into the crook of Mihashi’s neck, breathing in deeply, wanting to commit the smell back into his memory. “No. I can’t let you go Ren. Not a second time,” Abe said in a shuddering whisper against Mihashi’s racing pulse. “Not a day has gone by in the past six years that I didn’t regret not being there in time.” Mihashi froze. “I’ve missed you so much Ren. My heart’s going to break if you don’t stay.”

“B-But Shizuka!”

Abe pulled away to look Mihashi in the eye. “Shizuka? What about her?”

“S-She’s your wife!”

Abe raised an eyebrow. “My wife? What are you talking about? Shizuka is married to Shun. Keitaro is my nephew.”

Mihashi felt as if he was about to faint. “M-Married t-to Shun?”

Abe sighed. “Yes. Shizuka is married to Shun, Ren. I’ve been here waiting for you to come back. To come back to me, Ren.” Abe kissed Mihashi on the crown of his head. “I love you too much to do anything else.”

“T-Takaya! Me t-too! It has to be Takaya!”

Mihashi rushed forward into Abe’s arms again and pulled him down for a kiss. Their lips met for the first time and it was like everything in the universe finally clicked. The world stopped spinning, things that didn’t make sense finally did, the hollowness in Mihashi’s chest evaporated and Abe’s hopes rose up again. When their lips parted, they spread in smiles with fingers intertwined and happily walked back to the house taking their time, laughter and easy chatter between them.


End file.
